Huskies bounce back

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, January 25, 2005

But the Huskies refused to carry the disappointment another mile Tuesday.

After leading by as many as 13 points in the second half, No. 19 UConn held off pesky West Virginia, 68-58, before 7,713 fans at the WVU Coliseum. It marked the Huskies' first trip to Morgantown in six years.

Fortunately for UConn, the outcome couldn't have come at a better time.

Rashad Anderson, who was scratched from the starting lineup earlier in the day, shot the Huskies to victory with a game-high 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a 4-of-7 mark from 3-point range. It was the most points Anderson has scored since a 27-point outburst against Rice on Dec. 19.

Ultimately, it was Anderson's bravado - and his timely shooting - that preserved this victory. Every time West Virginia tried to come back, Anderson drilled a 3-point dagger.

When Mike Gansey scored on a three-point play to cut UConn's lead to 47-42, Anderson hit a 3-pointer from the right corner. When Tyrone Sally stormed the lane to make it 52-46, Anderson buried another one.

And threw the dirt on West Virginia.

"It's nothing I haven't done before," grinned Anderson, who has scored 41 points in his last two games. "It's just a rhythm. My teammates were looking for me and somebody needed to step up.

"I'm starting to get back to having fun and it's been working," Anderson added. "I just come out ready to play. I treated (the benching) like any other game."

"Rashad Anderson made some tremendous shots," Calhoun gushed. "He made the shots that he dreamed he would make when Ben Gordon left. He made the big ones that just kill a team."

Just ask West Virginia (11-6, 1-5), which lost for the fifth straight game and the sixth time in seven outings, after starting the season 10-0 and cracking the national polls.

"It's always tough playing a John Beilein-coached team. It's always root canals," Calhoun said. "This was a good battle for us. It was a good test. We have 11 precious games left and a lot of tests."

UConn's next test comes Sunday, when Calhoun takes his team to Notre Dame, which has proven to be a root canal of its own over the years. The Huskies have lost three times in South Bend since 1997.

And yet, UConn is undefeated on the road this year in Big East play. The Huskies have beaten Georgetown, Seton Hall, and now, West Virginia.

Charlie Villanueva added 16 points and seven rebounds for UConn (12-4, 4-2), just the second time in eight games he hasn't posted a double-double. Marcus Williams added 12 points and a game-high five assists, while shooting an uncharacteristic 2-of-3 from 3-point range.

But with West Virginia struggling, the Huskies were never going to lose this game.

Suddenly, the Mountaineers can't put the ball in the basket, after shooting under 40 percent for the fifth straight game. Against UConn, West Virginia shot just 29 percent, its second-worst performance of the season.

Sally led the Mountaineers with 16 points, but he needed 13 shots to do it. Patrick Beilein, the coach's son, added 12 points, but shot 3-of-12, including 2-of-10 from 3-point range.

West Virginia was on its heels from the start, after missing eight of its first 10 shots. By the time Kevin Pittsnogle scored inside to cut UConn's lead to 14-7, the Mountaineers had made exactly three field goals in 8:48.

What's more, with UConn crashing the boards, West Virginia managed just one offensive rebound in the first half, while shooting 4-of-17 from 3-point range.

But somewhere in those yellow-and-blue uniforms is the team that upset North Carolina State and George Washington. It's just a matter of Beilein finding the it.

"For this team to quit on themselves, it would be a crying shame," Beilein said. "The only way it will continue is if they put their heads down."

If nothing else, the Mountaineers managed to slow down the Big East's most potent offense. UConn came into the game averaging 80.3 points, but was held to 68 by West Virginia.

Still, when the Huskies needed the points that mattered, Rashad Anderson was always there.

NOTES: UConn freshman A.J. Price, who suffered a season-ending brain hemorrhage Oct. 4, will undergo radio surgery Feb. 2. Price had originally been scheduled for surgery this weekend.